What appears to be a cheap, cringe-y, commercial Christmas film in the trailer, turns out to be a heart-warming, wholesome holiday film. Based on the real-life military operation of dropping supplies and gifts to remote islands over the Christmas holidays, this film provides a taste of the tropical after nearly a year of no travel.
It begins with uptight, controlling, independent Erica (Kat Graham) who is tasked with examining the airbase where army man Andrew (Alexander Ludwig) is a commander, and to determine whether or not it should stay functioning. It is very on the nose, and there are no subtleties in the theme or tone, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They are the classic pairing of the Grinch and the one who is full of Christmas spirit.
A cynic might say that there is a white saviour narrative to the whole thing, or at least the idea that Americans can solve everyone’s problems, but it doesn’t really go that deep. The film is an easy watch with some great, Christmas-themed production design (aside from a badly CGI-ed gecko), and it is nice to see Cato from The Hunger Games getting a good guy role.
‘Operation Christmas Drop’ is available to stream on Netflix.
Pep Reviews 